Lesley Riddoch

Labour Party has blurred line between mumbo-jumbo and political strategy

Is it time to consider the establishment of a Scottish Labour Party?

The groans are almost audible. The quest for this Holy Grail has stretched across a century, destroyed careers, severed friendships, and achieved nothing.

But if a week is a long time in politics, then a political year in the doldrums must be concentrating some minds wonderfully.

And despite an interesting speech from Wendy Alexander, Scottish Labour’s Aviemore conference must have been the tin-lid .

Every speech without exception revealed a party mired in denial and confusion.

The Labour Aftermath

There is a new Aftermath available...the Labour Party were in Aviemore and the programme was chock full of politicians. There were lots of callers who didn't get on and the Aftermath team tried to dissect the lot of politicians, truth, Scotland and a disappointing lap dance.

Riddoch Questions 28th March - Tom Brown: Can we have our Labour Party back please?

Veteran political journalist and commentator Tom Brown believes Labour lost power in Scotland last May not just because of its lacklustre performance in government but because it never bought into Tony Blair’s vision of New Labour. He says Wendy Alexander should get over the shock of losing and start providing some positive opposition to the SNP. Cathy Jamieson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, and Lord George Foulkes will try to convince Tom all is well with Scottish Labour, live from their annual conference in Aviemore. So will this Highland gathering be the start of Labour’s fightback in Scotland or a nail in its coffin?

If you’ve got a question or comment call on Friday from 1pm on 0500 92 95 00 or email lesley@bbc.co.uk and text 80295.

Ministers should be able to fix Post Office without closures

Queuing in a busy Post Office earmarked for closure through lack of custom is like trying to believe in global warming on the coldest Easter Monday in living memory. The underlying theory may be right – it’s just hard to believe on the evidence. Regular users take a book and overcoat to visit the average closure-threatened urban Post Office branch. Apparently they come in handy for the queues from hell that snake out the door at lunchtimes most days of the week.

My recent visit to Rum

Rum People March 2008

On my recent visit to Rum, I took my camera and photographed everyone I came across. Here are my efforts in this online album. Warning - there  are lot of photos with captions!

The Good Friday Aftermath is now available

There is a new Aftermath available...after pubs last week, this week's subject of Riddoch Questions was the closure of Post Offices. This prompted a discussion of the robust nature of phone in participants, some gossip about 'capers' and a quick detour on the subject of cyclists, red lights and one way streets.

Riddoch Questions 21st March - Post Office closures

Hundreds of Scottish Post Offices are destined for closure as part of the company’s massive money-saving Network Change programme. Following the only Commons debate on the issue, MP for Falkirk East Michael Connarty will talk about his support for a freeze on the closures and the difficult position he and his Labour colleagues are now in – do they support their constituents, many of whom are campaigning to retain their Post Offices, or toe the government line and vote to go ahead with shutting loss-making branches. If the closure programme itself can’t be stopped, just what is the way forward? Should Scotland’s local authorities follow the example of Essex County Council and step in to take over the running of threatened branches? Is it up to local government to take action? Or is the onus on the public themselves – should communities stop complaining about the loss of their Post Office, stump up the cash and buy out their branches? Instead of ‘use it or lose it’, perhaps it’s ‘put up or shut up’?

Tell us what you think on Friday - call from 1pm on 0500 92 95 00 or email lesley@bbc.co.uk and text 80295.

Let's raise a glass to the end of Scotland's drinking-den culture.

Scotland's pub culture has always been seriously habit-forming. In the drink-sodden 1990s a fellow hack and myself chummed departing Irish delegates to Glasgow Airport after a particularly "spirited" union conference.

We had spent most of it ensconced in the umbilical darkness of the now-defunct Granny Blacks, and after ten minutes' exposure to the overlit airport environment, my companion developed the bends. "Get me to a pub, now."

This week's Aftermath is just back from the pub

There is a new Aftermath available...after a discussion about the demise of the pub, naturally enough this Aftermath goes all around the houses of coffee houses, tea places and other things to arrive at a good definition of the traditional Scottish pub. Enjoy.

Right to Reply - Riddoch Questions, Fairtrade programme

The Fairtrade Foundation has been in touch following Friday's programme on Fairtrade - here's what they had to say:

"The Fairtrade Foundation would just like to correct an allegation by the coffee roaster who appeared on the programme on Friday 7 March. It is completely untrue that no Fairtrade coffee has been landed in the UK in recent months. We have checked with the biggest roaster involved with Fairtrade and several other traders, and they confirm that Fairtrade coffee is being landed practically every week.

There are undoubtedly challenges right across the industry with the price of coffee hitting 12-year highs. This sellers’ market is pressurizing some coffee exporters to renegotiate terms as their suppliers are understandably keen to capitalize on what is likely to be a short-term boom."